Another Piece of the Space Shuttle Columbia Found in Texas

Authorities in the East Texas city of Nacogdoches have found an object about four feet in diameter that NASA believes to be a power and water tank from the space shuttle Columbia.

“It’s one of ours,” said NASA spokeswoman Lisa Malone. “We’re looking into whether we’ll send a team out [to recover it] or [whether] local authorities can.”

When Columbia disintegrated while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere in February of 2003, much of the resulting debris was found in Nacogdoches. The recently-discovered tank was submerged in a lake that has since receded due to the Texas drought.

And lest anyone decide to take it home as a souvenir, Sgt. Greg Sowell of the Nacogdoches Police Department has a warning: “We want to remind everyone that the rules are the same as they were back in 2003. If this object is indeed a part of the shuttle, it is government property, and it is a criminal offense to tamper with it.”